NEWARK, Del. — Another week. Another ranked opponent. Another stellar defensive performance for William and Mary.

Consequently, the Tribe continued to bolster its résumé for a playoff bid Saturday at Delaware.No. 23 William and Mary (7-3 overall, 4-2 CAA) defeated the 15th-ranked Blue Hens 24-10 at Raymond Field for its third consecutive victory, all of which have seen the Tribe’s defense limit the opposing offense to single-digit points.

“We’re very confident no matter what situation we’re in,” said W&M defensive back Jerome Couplin, who had six tackles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown. “It’s our job to get off the field on third down, and we did the job today.”

Doing that job Saturday continued a trend for the Tribe. Since losing 34-20 to Maine on Oct. 19, William and Mary has won three games in a row against CAA teams in the FCS top 25, all of which have seen its opponents average less than 4.4 yards per play.

Saturday might have been the Tribe’s best defensive performance. Averaging just more than 34 points and 444 yards of offense per game before Saturday, Delaware (7-3, 4-2) managed only 223 yards from scrimmage, including minus-19 rushing.

Leading 17-7 at halftime, the Tribe seized control of the game in the third quarter. Luke Rhodes intercepted Delaware quarterback Trevor Sasek’s pass at the Blue Hens’ 43-yard line and returned it 13 yards. On the following play, Tribe quarterback Brent Caprio threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Sean Ballard that gave William and Mary a 24-7 lead with 11:35 left in the third.

Given the play of the Tribe defense, that three-possession lead felt far larger.

“We stop the run, we make them one-dimensional,” Couplin said. “We did what we wanted to do.”

After a poor start, the Tribe steadily took command over the first 30 minutes.

Delaware’s Travis Hawkins returned John Carpenter’s opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. William and Mary then went three-and-out on its first series, but thanks to Couplin and Jared Velasquez, William and Mary evened the score. After a short completion to Delaware receiver Rob Jones, Velasquez forced a fumble that Couplin picked up and returned 51 yards for a touchdown, tying the score at 7.

“I just ran to the ball, like I always do,” Couplin said. “I saw Jared hit him, kind of bobble it. It popped out, I didn’t hear a whistle.”

Late in the first quarter, the Tribe took a 10-7 lead when Carpenter capped an eight-play, 43-yard drive with a 47-yard field goal.

At the end of the first half, William and Mary moved ahead 17-7 when Tre McBride caught a 3-yard fade from Caprio for a touchdown. Delaware was called for pass interference, but it didn’t matter because McBride caught a deflection near the back of the end zone.

Three plays prior to the touchdown, Mikal Abdul-Saboor gained 5 yards to convert a fourth-and-1 from the Blue Hens’ 8.

“I think our offensive line toughened it up time after time and was able to get some push,” Abdul-Saboor said. “That made it a lot easier to see the holes.”

Offensively, W&M did enough to make its defense’s performance stand up, as Abdul-Saboor rushed for 147 yards on 32 carries. Along with another superb defensive effort, that ground game helped the Tribe grind out a victory.

“Every team’s different, and you have to play to the strengths, play how you are,” Tribe coach Jimmye Laycock said. “Our players are doing a really good job of that right now.”